


Fairy Rings

by birdii (birdmint)



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/F, Fae & Fairies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21770389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdmint/pseuds/birdii
Summary: Seungwan is just trying to figure out how to balance getting both her music degree AND her witching license. Her life gets even more complicated than she expected after she spills her iced coffee all over the otherworldly gorgeous girl who is in her Psych 100 class. wenrene magic!au
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Son Seungwan | Wendy
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	1. iron clover

Seungwan yawned as she walked into the lecture hall. It was pretty standard as a college student to be tired but _because_ she was a college student, she thought it’d be a good idea to knock out everything that needed moonlight on the same night so it wouldn’t interfere with homework. She’d found a nice clearing off campus to lay out spell components that needed to be imbued and mix up potions that similarly needed to be done by moonlight. She hadn’t found her way to bed until 5 in the morning only to be woken up three hours later for her 9 am psych lecture.

That was why she had an extra-large iced coffee in hand, a baseball cap pulled low over her bare face to hide deep undereye circles, and her eye on a seat at the far end of a row. Unfortunately, this meant she had to push past people already sitting to get to her coveted seat.

“Excuse me, excuse me...” She did her best to push through the narrow gap between the seats and the row in front of them. But partway down the row, her tiredness betrayed her, and she tripped right into someone’s legs.

The lid of her coffee popped off. Half the contents inside sloshed out of the cup. Seungwan herself ended up sprawled on the stranger’s chair’s little attached desk, only just managing to not swipe the notebook onto the coffee covered floor... or the coffee covered lap of the owner of said notebook.

Seungwan sprung uptight with a start, almost dumping the remaining coffee in her cup on herself. “Oh my god I’m so sorry. How can I help? Your poor skirt—“

She reached out a hand— to do what, she wasn’t certain— but she found herself with an arm across her waist pushing her back into the chair beside her coffee typhoon victim. When the back of her legs hit the seat, Seungwan sat down automatically, too stunned to do otherwise.

“Can I help? Can I get some towels for you?” she tried, grimacing at the large coffee puddle.

“Just stay put,” said the girl. She stood up, and Seungwan’s eyes followed to catch the face of the girl she’d drenched with caffeine.

The worried frown on her face disappeared, her jaw dropping open.

Even only catching her side profile, the girl was breathtakingly beautiful. Her dark hair framed a soft rose-colored cheek that made Seungwan’s fingers itch to touch. Her dark eyes gleamed even with the low light of the auditorium. Seungwan found she couldn’t pull her gaze away until the girl has passed by altogether. Even then, she found herself frozen for a moment as she processed what had just happened. Between the lack of sleep, the coffee disaster, and the appearance of a literal goddess, Seungwan’s brain felt like a washing machine in a spin cycle.

The girl returned with her hands full of paper towels. While waiting, Seungwan had spaced out, gaze floating out to the front of the room. She shook her head, trying to stand as the girl leaned over to take care of the spill.

“Please let me help! It’s my fault—“

The girl held up a hand before Seungwan could get to her feet. “I can handle it.”

“But—“

The girl shook her head. Seungwan watched the girl’s gaze go to her hand which made Seungwan realize she still was holding the other half of her coffee, now lidless.

“You look like you should’ve stayed home today.”

With the flat tone, Seungwan couldn’t tell if it was intended as an insult or sympathy. “I... uh.... Yeah, probably. Sorry.” She decided that the best course of action was to sip at her coffee and hope the remaining caffeine would make her more of a person.

She tried one more time when the girl stood with the sodden paper towels, floor as clean as it would get without a mop. “Can I at least toss those for you?” She only got a blank stare before the girl squeezed past her again. The girl said nothing when she returned, even as Seungwan squeaked out another ‘sorry’, so she gave up and tried to focus on the lecture.

In some ways, it was lucky that she was so exhausted. She hadn’t taken the opportunity to move to the far seat, too stunned by the sequence of events, and so she was still sitting next to the singularly gorgeous girl. Normally she’d be struggling to not let her eyes drift to the side despite her embarrassment, trying to fight away a blush because she was useless like that. But today, she was more concerned with not falling asleep. At the end of class, she skittered out without looking back, deciding that she deserved to skip the rest of her classes after the morning she’d had. 

“Please accept my apology!”

Two days later, Seungwan held out a small shopping bag to the girl whose skirt she’d ruined. She had spent the day after the disastrous psych class fretting once she’d had the energy to do so. The most reasonable thing to do would be to buy the girl a coffee, but that seemed like a bad move when apologizing for dumping a coffee on her. A far less smart idea, and the one Seungwan decided on, was to run around the mall all afternoon and pick up a skirt that looked similar. Even as she headed to campus, she questioned her own sanity— why would the girl want a new skirt? But she had committed to the decision, going so far as to wash the new skirt and tuck a charm in the pocket for luck.

“What’s this?” the girl asked with a frown, taking the bag tentatively.

“I felt so bad about the whole coffee thing and I wanted to try and make up for it somehow.”

“Oh, on Monday...”

Seungwan nodded, watching as the girl slowly opened the bag and pulled out its contents.

“A skirt?”

“Yeah, to replace the one I made a mess of.” The expression on the girl’s face was still impassive, which made her nervous. “I mean, I wasn’t sure what else would be a good apology. I just... it’s okay if you don’t like it. Or think it’s weird…”

The girl held up the skirt, seeming to inspect it closely. Seungwan couldn’t tell what she was looking for. Eventually she set the skirt down on her lap, digging into the pocket and pulling out the holey stone Seungwan had placed there. She held the stone out in an open palm, frowning at it.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a good luck charm,” Seungwan explained with a nervous chuckle. She chanced taking the stone from the girl’s hand, being careful not to make skin contact. Holding the stone up between them, she ran her finger around the inside of the water carved stone. “When a stone gets a hole like this carved through it naturally, it can help ward off bad influences. Folklore also says if you look through the hole, you can see through faerie glamour.” She held it up to her eye as demonstration. Regardless of the stone viewing port, the girl’s beauty remained just as enchanting.

With a shrug and another awkward laugh, she dropped the stone back into the girl’s palm. “It’s kinda silly, but I have a habit of putting charms in gifts. I like the idea of passing on well wishes.”

The girl still didn’t comment, and Seungwan sensed she had rambled on too long to try and explain the oddity. However, the girl wrapped her hand around the stone before dropping it back into the skirt’s pocket. She folded it up and tucked it back into the plastic bag before putting it away in her backpack.

“Thank you.”

“Of course!” The professor had arrived at the front of the classroom, and so Seungwan sunk down into the seat next to the girl again with a sigh of relief that her apology had been accepted.

The next Monday found Seungwan back in the same seat next to the beautiful girl. During the last Wednesday lecture she didn’t have exhaustion and embarrassment to distract her from the girl’s beauty. She’d spent the class dazed, writing down half sentences and sprawling doodles and catching little to none of the psychology lecture. And now, because she’d felt it too awkward to push past the girl, Seungwan would likely spend this lecture in the same way. She had a sinking feeling that her grade in the class was going to take a dive.

“What’s your name?”

Seungwan jumped, startled despite the low volume of the question. She turned to the girl next to her, mouth falling half open before she got ahold of herself. “Sorry?”

“What’s your name?”

The girl didn’t seem annoyed, but more amused. Seungwan could feel a blush rising in her cheeks yet again and cursed herself for being so useless. “I’m Wendy. You?”

“Joohyun.”

It was likely her real name, unlike Seungwan’s response. She couldn’t scold normal people for giving out their Names like it was nothing, and in any case, it usually never mattered. But introductions always made Seungwan wince because in her world, there were plenty of beings that would take advantage of the power a Name could give them.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Joohyun only nodded in response, but there was a small smile on her lips.

The lecture passed quicker than Seungwan would’ve guessed. Joohyun was still a distraction, perhaps more so when a faint smile remained on her face instead the blank stare of the past two classes. While she was pretty either way, the warm aura Joohyun’s smile gave her mesmerized Seungwan that much more. She sighed at herself. Her notes were a disaster (unlike Joohyun’s purple inked notes marching neatly down her notebook) and so was she.

When lecture was over, Seungwan closed her notebook ruefully. She was going to have to spend time she could be practicing reviewing the lecture slides. Perhaps she should move seats; it wasn’t like she and Joohyun were friends. Maybe it was kind of creepy that she kept ending up in the seat right next to her.

The thought flew from her mind when Joohyun called out, “Excuse me?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Would you like to grab a coffee?”

Seungwan stopped packing things in her bag to look up at Joohyun who was waiting patiently in the middle of the row. She was blocking in the people behind her, but Seungwan noticed that she must not be the only one starstruck by Joohyun since the one boy who she could see was staring instead of complaining.

“Oh, um, sure! Yeah!” She raced to zip up her bag. She stood up, looking to Joohyun to see if she was good to leave, but the other girl just frowned.

“I... don’t like coffee.” It sounded like an admission of sorts, but Seungwan was mostly just confused.

“Um, bubble tea?”

At the suggestion, Joohyun’s face instantly brightened. “Perfect.”

As they wandered down the row, she heard people quietly saying Joohyun’s name and wondered what she had gotten into.

(And a small daring part of her brain wondered if she’d just managed to get asked out on a date.)

Seungwan ended up leading the way to her favorite bubble tea place. On the walk over, Joohyun didn’t talk at all, but she seemed unperturbed by silence. It was a crisp fall day with a deep blue sky and Joohyun was more occupied with looking up than chatting. Seungwan, on the other hand, felt restless but too nervous to speak. She quietly held the door open for Joohyun when they arrived.

“Go on and order,” Joohyun told her when they stepped into the small cafe, ushering Seungwan forward. Despite Seungwan’s flustered protests, Joohyun paid for both their drinks, pulling out her wallet with no concern. Seungwan did her best to ignore the grin on the cashier’s face at the sight of her regular customer being so awkward.

“You like purple a lot,” Seungwan ventured upon seeing the small purple pouch. Joohyun typically wore more mature subdued colors, but everything else she owned seemed to be the same color.

“How did you know?”

“I mean, your pen is purple,” she started, wondering if she was about to reveal herself as a creep, “and your notebook’s purple, and your backpack and wallet...”

“It’s my favorite,” Joohyun confirmed. Seungwan watched as Joohyun’s hand wandered towards a bracelet on her opposite arm, which was strange as the bracelet wasn’t purple at all. The bracelet itself looked old and ragged, the thread bleached to a dull white except for a lavender string that seemed to be holding the bracelet together. The only other sign of color was one plastic violet bead threaded on the bracelet. Joohyun fiddled with it for a moment, tugging gently at it with a finger until their teas were set on the counter, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Why don’t we sit over there?” Joohyun nodded towards a table by the window. She picked up both cups, so Seungwan hastily grabbed two straws, making sure to get a purple one.

Seungwan was intimately familiar with this particular café due to her unfortunate bubble tea addiction. The interior was a clean, sleek white with splashes of neon colors. It looked chic, but the mixed playlist of kpop and American hip hop at haphazard proportions plus the worn but plush chairs betrayed its family owned roots. At this point, she knew most of the staff as well as the owners by name (and after careful investigation, was able to offer her services as a potion brewer). The familiarity was a balm to help calm the nervous thoughts spinning in her head.

“So,” Seungwan started slowly, “What year are you?”

“I’m a fourth year dance major.”

“Oh! Sunbaenim!” Seungwan’s eyes widened in her shock, eliciting a laugh from the other girl. She dipped her head quickly. “I’m a second year. Studying music.”

“It’s fine,” Joohyun told her, and Seungwan looked up to see the amused smile she seemed to already be an expert at causing.

“I studied abroad for most of my schooling,” she explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “It’s a lot more casual there, so I don’t want to be rude or anything.”

“It’s alright,” Joohyun repeated. “It gets tiring, having people tiptoe around you.”

“Why…” Seungwan thought better of her question and closed her mouth sharply. The comment sounded surprisingly weighty for two almost strangers. Was there something she should know about Joohyun? Was she someone famous that Seungwan should know? Or did she mean in regards to her beauty? Sure, Seungwan was a gay mess in general, but if she regularly had people falling over themselves around her, perhaps that was irritating…?

The other girl, however, didn’t seem annoyed at her. She only sipped at her tea, eyes wandering around the cafe curiously. (Seungwan noted with a stupid amount of satisfaction that Joohyun had taken the purple straw.)

“You study music?” Seungwan was brought back from her thoughts with the question. “What kind?”

“Vocal music. All kinds, but I did a lot of musical theater in high school and I like RnB.”

“If you study music, then you have to have good recommendations, right?”

That was the final ice breaker Seungwan needed. An hour later, both girls had finished their tea, their cups pushed to the side so Seungwan could show Joohyun her phone screen. They both had one of Seungwan’s airpods in and took turns picking songs that Joohyun made note of in her phone while Seungwan constructed a playlist on the fly. With music between them, the last of the nervous fluttering in her chest dissipated and she found it easy to chat freely, her monologues punctuated with thoughtful questions from Joohyun.

“Oh sh—heck,” Seungwan cursed as an alarm came up on her phone. “I have class.” And she was across campus from the lecture hall. She tugged her air pod case from her bag before slinging it onto her back.

Joohyun removed the earbud from her ear, sliding it into Seungwan’s hand with a pout as Seungwan fumbled to put its mate away. “Too bad. You should give me your number.”

Seungwan found her air pod case falling out of her hand at the request, jitters rushing back in. She ducked down quickly to pick up the case, managing to knock her bag against the edge of the table. A metal clink came from nearby, and she just barely stifled her groan. Did she break something?

One thing she had definitely broken—the air pod case lid was hanging by one side of a cracked hinge. She was a danger to herself and her own belongings. With shaking hands, she managed to put the ear buds away and tuck them in her pocket with a prayer that they wouldn’t fall from the case and out of her pocket during her imminent mad dash to class.

“I think you dropped this,” she heard Joohyun say. A second later, Joohyun gasped, and a second metal clink sounded.

Joohyun was clutching one hand, her face twisted in pain. On the table, Seungwan saw what the older girl must have picked up. It was the custom-made pin Seungwan’s mother had given her, made in the shape of a four-leaf clover. She kept it pinned to her backpack amidst a smattering of less precious pins she’d accumulated over the years. It looked innocuous enough, but the clover was made of pure iron to act as a deterrent against fae.

“Did you prick your finger?” she asked, holding her hand out.

While Seungwan had done it on instinct, Joohyun placed her hand on Seungwan’s without reserve. Leaning in, she found that the tip of Joohyun’s thumb, index finger, and middle were all an angry red. The skin on her thumb even had small blisters forming.

“I have a metal allergy,” Joohyun explained as Seungwan grimaced at the injury. “Usually I’m alright, but some metals cause this to happen.”

“Do you need to see a doctor or something?”

Joohyun eased her hand back gently from Seungwan before the latter could react. “It’ll go away in a few days. But you have class.”

“But—”

“And I need your number.” The statement that had started Seungwan’s flailing in the first place. Joohyun placed her phone into Seungwan’s still open hand, her gaze steely until Seungwan gave in.

Seungwan’s phone buzzed on the table, lighting up with the text she’d just sent herself. At that, Joohyun smiled.

“Now go before you’re late.”

“Yes ma’am!” She swiped her phone and pin from the table, dipped into a bow, and prayed she’d be able to duck into her Music Theory class without getting scolded.


	2. free bubble tea

Seungwan knocked on the door of the bubble tea cafe. Her music theory class ran until late, and the shop was technically closed. However, the worker inside wiping down tables looked up at first with a scowl before grinning at the sight of Seungwan. She dropped her towel on the table unceremoniously to unlock the entrance.

“My favorite unnie!” she declared, swinging the door open dramatically.

“My favorite Joy!” Seungwan said just as cheesily, opening her arms wide as she stepped into the cafe. However, Joy ignored the invitation for a hug with a snort, instead stepping around Seungwan to lock the door again.

“I thought you’d forgotten all about your little student,” Joy whined, returning to the table she’d been cleaning. She pouted at Seungwan when the older girl slid into a chair.

“Little?”

Joy ignored her exclamation. “Baby Sooyoung told me she saw you in the shop earlier.”

“-- she’s still only a year younger than you--”

“But I’ve been working here two years longer,” Joy countered. “So when are we gonna have another lesson?”

Seungwan thought over her schedule guiltily. She honestly _had_ been neglecting Joy’s lessons since it was midterm season. “My test is Thursday, so we could do Friday?”

“I know _you_ don’t leave the house, unnie, but I have plans on Friday.”

Seungwan rolled her eyes, but it wasn’t like she could contradict the statement. She was just focusing on school and practicing was all. “Fine, how about Saturday evening? And what are _you_ doing?”

“Saturday,” Joy repeated before getting a sly look on her face that Seungwan didn’t like the look of. She settled down in the seat across from Seungwan, turning on what Seungwan thought of as her ‘innocent cutie’ expression. It was the face Joy used when she was looking for a compliment… or a favor.

“So… I’m going to a party on Friday and I wanted to ask you to make me a beauty tonic.”

“You don’t need a beauty tonic.” Seungwan frowned, folding her arms across her chest. “Why do you want it for a party?”

“I’m going to a party on campus, and there’s this girl—”

“A college party?” Seungwan interrupted. “Joy, you’re in _high school_! How did you even get an invitation?”

Joy simply gestured at her face and again, while Seungwan could do without the dramatics, she still couldn’t argue the point. Even after a work shift with her hair in a messy bun and the café’s bright green apron on over her uniform, Joy still exuded a sense of refreshing elegance. “So, a girl I like is supposed to be there and I need your help. Can I pay you for a beauty potion, or not?”

“You shouldn’t be going to a college party at all. Do you even have permission?”

At Seungwan’s questioning, Joy’s face shuttered into a blank expression. “I told you before to not nag me. I’m going to the party.”

Seungwan had tagged along to a big house party with friends from her major once as a freshman, curious about ‘typical’ college life. She’d decided to give it a pass afterwards after finding that it was mostly loud music, standing around talking to people you couldn’t really hear, and cheap gag-inducing beer. However, she’d heard plenty of stories of… less than savory things that happened when too many college students drank too much alcohol.

Although, if she were being honest, Joy might be younger, but she was adaptable and able to handle herself in ways Seungwan still struggled with. For one, Joy knew how to say ‘no’ and hold her ground… unlike her unnie.

Seungwan groaned. “I’ll make you a protection charm. And a luck charm. You’re already plenty beautiful.”

At the compliment, Joy smiled. “I guess I can accept that. How much?”

Seungwan shook her head. “For free. I’d feel better if you’re gonna go anyways.”

“Unnie, even mediocre charms usually go for 2,500 won. A _piece_. And your charms aren’t mediocre.”

“I don’t even have my license yet.” But she knew the argument wouldn’t fly with Joy. It wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. “Just gimme a bubble tea.”

“That’s only like 500 won!” Joy protested.

“Then give me _two_ free teas.” Seungwan held out her hand, wiggling her fingers with a grin.

“Two teas for two charms, fine.” Joy sighed as she stood up to fetch coupons from behind the counter. “You’ve gotta start letting me pay for these properly, unnie. My coworkers are getting suspicious of how many coupons you use.”

“I’d feel bad making you pay for them.” She gratefully took the red slips of paper Joy held out to her, tucking them away in her wallet with relish. “I should teach you how to make them for a lesson, honestly. It’s not like they’re particularly advanced or anything.”

“Good. I was getting bored of memorizing plants.” Joy picked up her cloth again, returning to wiping down tables now that Seungwan had been properly convinced. She began her next attack in an offhand way. “You know, if you’re so worried about me, you could accompany me to the party—”

“What?” Seungwan sputtered, caught off guard by the request.

“It’s not like you need a real invite or anything.”

“You’d have to pay me to go.”

Joy smirked, and Seungwan’s stomach sank. “Another tea coupon. _And_ I’ll wear a dress that has pockets for all the trinkets you’ll inevitably hand me tomorrow instead of my bodycon dress.”

Able to handle herself or not, Seungwan didn’t like the image of Joy in her favorite (and expressly disallowed by her parents) red dress alone at a party with only Seungwan informed of her whereabouts. She sighed. Loudly, so Joy would understand how much she didn’t want to go. “Give me the tea.”

“My free drinks for the week well spent,” she crowed, heading back behind the counter again.

As Seungwan waited for her third drink ticket, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she found her screen lit up with a notification from ‘📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜’.

_I hope your hand feels better! Please take good care of it, and I’m so sorry!!!_ 😭🙇 🙇 🙇

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: _Hi Wendy! My hand is fine. I’ve got it all bandaged up._

[📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜 sent an attachment]

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: _It’s sweet of you to check, though! Did you make it to class on time?_

The picture looked like a close up of Joohyun’s hand, her index and middle fingers and thumb wrapped with gauze. Seungwan was glad to see that the blistering was being taken care of, even if it worried her for more than one reason.

“What are you looking at with such a big smile?” Joy jammed the coupon between Seungwan’s index finger and her phone. Seungwan rolled her eyes before tucking it away with the others.

“A text.” She flipped her phone facedown. “So—”

“You should answer it. Baby Sooyoung told me you were here with none other than legendary beauty Joohyun-ssi.”

“She’s not famous or anything, is she?”

“Joohyun-ssi? Just on campus for being pretty.”

“Oh. That makes sense.” So it wasn’t just her lack of common Korean knowledge, which was reassuring. Joy leaning over the table and staring at her was less so.

“What did she say?”

“She hurt her hand when we were here earlier, so she was telling me that she’d taken care of it. Actually…” Seungwan trailed off with a frown, drumming her fingers on the table. “You know my clover pin? The one my mom got me?”

“The pin that you _really_ don’t need but have because you’re really paranoid?”

“The pin made of pure iron,” Seungwan continued, ignoring Joy’s usual teasing.

“Yeah, yeah. I remember.”

“So earlier, it fell off my bag and she picked it up.”

“And?”

Seungwan paused. “She told me she just had a bad metal allergy, but her fingers looked like she’d burned herself after she touched it.”

“Of course the beautiful girl is a fae. No one can be that pretty without a glamour.”

“It’s not a glamour; I checked.” Joy gave her an unimpressed look. “I gave her a holey stone and showed her how you use it. No glamour.”

“I would ask why you thought you should give someone a charm out of the blue, but I’m also talking to Son Seungwan, the girl with a hunter’s safety kit in her backpack.”

“You never know if you’ll need it!” Seungwan protested.

“We’re in Korea, unnie, not the US! You don’t need a silver dagger or a plastic baggie of salt when you’re going to class!”

It was a well-worn argument by now, but Seungwan felt naked without the leather pouch tucked in the front zipper pocket of her backpack. Or the various charms she had stashed in different places on her person. As much as Joy reassured her that Korea was perfectly safe, her years in the US as a trainee witch had instilled a particular level of vigilance in her after a few bad run-ins with the local supernatural.

“Anyways, I’ve been proven right and a faerie now has my number in her phone, most likely.”

“You haven’t been proven right,” Joy argued. “The faerie is _texting_ you and not binding you to promises or whisking you away forever. Also, what the fuck? The faerie has a phone, knows how to use it, and is enrolled in your college? Since when do the fae hang around in our world like that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s just got the worst metal allergy in the world.”

“Maybe.” They sat in silence for a moment, Joy frowning at Seungwan’s phone while Seungwan fretted over having spent so much time with a potential _faerie_. She thought back over their interactions, wondering if she’d done anything to get herself in trouble. Did she accept any agreements? Had she eaten anything Joohyun-ssi had offered her? _Oh no, I apologized to her… That’s rude in Faerie—_

“Look, just be careful, unnie.” Joy’s voice snapped Seungwan out of her thoughts. “I’ve got to finish closing up, so I’ll see you Friday.”

“Right. Friday…”

“I’ll text you the time, and you’d better show up promptly because I’m obviously going to have to do your makeup and dress you.”

Seungwan glared at Joy. “For that, I should take my promise back.”

“If I don’t dress you, you’ll show up in a hoodie and ripped jeans. You can’t even say I’m wrong.” Joy pointed an accusing finger at her. “Besides, I gave you tea.”

“You did give me tea. I’ll see you Friday.”

“Be safe unnie.”

Joy ushered her out of the shop quickly. Seungwan could see her getting back to work, moving quickly. Their talk had probably taken up Joy’s normal cleaning time. She felt bad about causing Joy to have to stay late, but she knew Joy would only scold her if she tried to apologize. 

Heading towards her apartment, she bit her lip as she pulled up the conversation with Joohyun again.

_I was a bit late to class, but it’s okay!!_ 😅

 _Ill see you in class wednesday!_ 📝 😄

She didn’t expect a response since it was already getting late and they were acquaintances at best, but her phone lit up before she could even tuck it back into her pocket.

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: _I’m sorry! Please don’t let me keep you next time!_

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: _See you Wednesday!_

Despite herself, Seungwan smiled at her phone. She had no idea what she was going to do about the situation, but for the moment she was a girl grinning at texts from a pretty girl. But only for a moment, because she was Paranoid Son Seungwan and said pretty girl could potentially cause a lot of harm if Seungwan didn’t watch her step.

She sighed as she tucked her phone into her pocket. She was really too busy for this shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catching up with crossposting from aff <3 one more chapter, then back to a more normal rate of updates~


	3. flannel shirt

“See? I said you’d show up in jeans and a hoodie!” Joy exclaimed when Seungwan showed up on her doorstep.

“I did it just to annoy you,” Seungwan told her. “My jeans aren’t ripped though.”

“Little blessings.”

Seungwan was entirely lying; after cramming for and subsequently taking her music theory midterm the day before, she hadn’t had the energy to dress up nicely. She’d woken up late, put the last touches on her charms for Joy, then threw herself into a practice room to make up for the time she’d spent studying instead of singing. Honestly, Joy was lucky she was on time.

“Come on; I’ve still got to get ready too.” Joy grabbed her arm and started tugging her towards the stairs.

“I could’ve waited an hour before showing up,” Seungwan complained but it didn’t deter Joy in the slightest. And besides, she was letting Joy pull her along anyways.

Seungwan ended up laying on Joy’s bed, fiddling with her phone as Joy dug through her closet to test out different options for the night.

“How about this one?” Seungwan looked over towards Joy. This time she was dressed in a sleek black dress that flared out slightly at the hips. At least this one had sleeves. Seungwan opened her mouth to give her tentative approval, but Joy didn’t give her the chance.

“You’re not frowning at me, so I can tell it’s not the right dress.” She turned back towards her mirror, inspecting herself with furrowed brows. “This one has actual pockets, though.”

“Do you have a spare chain? For the protection charm, I found an actual silver charm to attach the spell to so you could wear it.” Seungwan dug through the large bag sitting next to her, pulling out the charms she’d prepped.

“Hm… I think so?” Joy took the charms, appraising them. The good luck charm was a small sachet of undyed cotton sewn shut with red thread. Seungwan had mixed up fresh basil and chamomile she kept growing on her windowsill alongside dried red clover. She had added a sprig of lavender to temper the mixture, with its properties of protection and peace. Better yet, red clover and lavender together also could be used for attraction, which was what Seungwan was sure Joy had meant by “luck”. Putting together the sachet had been a fun puzzle, and she’d even written down her recipe for later use.

The protection charm was a simple circle of silver with a tree engraved into the front that Seungwan had found floating around in her kit. She’d anointed it with geranium and sandalwood oils to enhance the spell she’d cast on it.

“I might not even need a perfume tonight; these oils are strong,” Joy commented, nodding in approval. She did find a chain, taking off the necklace she’d been wearing in order to put it on. However, Seungwan could only pointedly roll her eyes when Joy changed into another form fitting dress and tucked the sachet into her bra. She couldn’t say Joy wasn’t taking it with her, she supposed.

She turned back to her phone as Joy apparently decided that the dress wasn’t the one she wanted and returned to her closet. A notification popped up—a text from Joohyun.

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: How did the quiz go for you?

She had seen Joohyun in class again on Wednesday. She hadn’t had time to panic over her realization, however, since they’d had a quiz. A quiz that, between the girl sitting next to her and her midterms worth a far larger percentage of her other grades, had gone very poorly. Psychology came to her far less readily than her music classes, unfortunately.

Despite herself, she hadn’t been able keep her worries about the quiz bubble over, wringing her hands as she complained. But Joohyun took the torrent of words gracefully, nodding in all the right places and even reassuring her again before they’d parted ways.

It made the blow of receiving a ‘C’ a little bit softer. Her first college ‘C’, third ‘C’ ever… She sighed as she typed her response.

not so well 😩 😩 😩

I need to study more 😭 📖

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: We should study together.

Seungwan stared at the conversation blankly. That was certainly one solution. “Joy. Joohyun says we should study together.”

Joy looked over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised. “You and me?”

“Me and her, dummy.”

“Oh.” Joy went back to browsing her wardrobe. “Then do it.”

“Remember that whole fae thing?”

“What, do you think she’s going to drag you off to Faerie? Just don’t be stupid. She’s asking you to _study_.” She shook her head as she stepped into the fifth dress of the night. “What faerie studies?”

“I mean…”

“Here.” With only the single word as warning, Seungwan found her phone taken from her hands before she could react. She sat up to snatch it back, but Joy held it easily out of reach with her longer arms. The front of Joy’s dress fell forward as she moved; she had apparently decided the matter urgent enough to take things into her own hands in the middle of changing. Seungwan resigned herself to Joy interfering, pushing at the other girl to turn around so she could zip up the back of the dress properly.

“Thanks, unnie!” Joy dropped the phone into Seungwan’s lap. She picked it up and prayed Joy didn’t say anything too embarrassing.

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: We should study together.

of course! when would be a good time?

Okay, so it wasn’t so bad. Seungwan wouldn’t have accepted so easily herself, but it wasn’t as though she didn’t need the study time.

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: Are you free after class on Monday?

sure! 😄 We could go to the library?

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: Sounds good!

“Joy-ah, you’re gonna kill me one of these days,” she groaned. “But I guess I’m studying with Joohyun-sunbaenim on Monday.”

“If I killed you, I wouldn’t have to give you all my free teas.” Joy spun around with a wide smile. “Double good news; I just scored you a study date _and_ I’ve chosen a dress. That means it’s time to get you all dressed up!”

They finally left the house almost an hour later, Joy yelling, “I’m with Wendy unnie, don’t wait up for me, I have my phone!” at her parents and dragging Wendy out of the house before they could see their outfits.

Joy had let her keep her jeans and heeled boots (Seungwan really did hate being so short) but had lent her a black crop top with thin spaghetti straps, commenting that the shirt made her “look like a hot edgy lesbian instead of a hobo student”. Seungwan wasn’t so sure about that, but the dark eyeliner and red lipstick Joy put on her did help her look less like she spent her days holed up in a practice studio alone. Joy had finally settled on a tight burgundy dress that was too short for Seungwan’s anxiety, paired with a chic brick red lip color. However, it had long sleeves and a high neckline, so she supposed it could be worse.

Joy led them to a small house just a few blocks off campus. The front yard already had plenty of people milling around and a light smattering of crumpled cans. Seungwan recognized the song playing on the speakers, which made her feel less apprehensive about the night.

“It’s the dance team’s house,” Joy told her, eyes scanning the small crowd as they trekked through the front yard.

“The dance team’s house?”

“It’s like, tradition or something for them to live together,” she explained absently. “At least that’s what I’ve been told. Let’s go inside.”

Seungwan followed Joy into the house, keeping close behind her. The main lights seemed to be off, the front room lit only by a string of fairy lights strung around the edges of the room and a weak strobe lamp sitting on top of a large speaker. Joy led them through the room but didn’t seem to find what she was looking for. 

“C’mon, out into the hall.”

They followed the fairy lights out of the room and down to the kitchen, which was the only room with an overhead light on.

The dining room table was covered with various sodas, while coolers underneath were filled with beer. There were a few people ducking into the room to get drinks, but when Seungwan looked back at Joy, she found the taller girl’s gaze fixed on the girl rearranging the two liters. She squeezed Seungwan’s hand tightly once before letting go. It had to be the girl they’d shown up for.

Before Joy could say anything, the girl turned around. Seungwan’s first impression was that of _course_ Joy had managed to crush on such a gorgeous girl. Even dressed in jeans and a t-shirt that just barely showed her midriff, she gave off a chic vibe that rivaled Joy’s. And she had _abs_. She really couldn’t blame Joy, if she were being honest.

However, when she caught sight of Joy, the girl’s face lit up in the brightest smile Seungwan had ever seen. “Tea Jwoy!”

“Hey Seulgi unnie.” Seungwan did her best to not laugh at Joy’s unaffected front after the younger girl had spent two hours getting them ready.

“I didn’t think you’d actually show up!”

“You wrote down the address for me and left me a big tip. I had to at least swing by.” Joy held her phone out towards Seulgi. “I need a phone number to go with the address.”

“Okay!”

“Smooth,” Seungwan whispered, earning herself an elbow in the ribs.

“There… we…. go!” Seulgi said, as she tapped at the phone. She handed it back with a wide grin still in place. “I’m so glad you showed up. I missed you!”

“What you missed was me giving you the overflow smoothie when I make your order,” Joy retorted, but Seungwan caught the smile on her face when she took her phone from the other girl’s hands.

“My tea Joy,” Seulgi said unrepentantly. “Do you guys want a drink? They’ve got some nicer things hidden away.”

Seungwan found herself with an actually tolerable beer in hand, listening as Joy and Seulgi chatted easily. (Joy had a drink in hand as well, but Seungwan managed to hold her tongue. Joy seemed too busy talking to do more than sip at it anyways.) Joy had introduced her, and upon finding that they were the same age, Seungwan ended up with Seulgi’s number as well. She was finding it hard to remain worried for Joy after hearing the gentle way Seulgi responded to Joy’s sharp banter. If Joy _had_ to fall for a college girl, at least Seulgi seemed to be a good choice. (Not that Seungwan would ever truly stop worrying for her younger friend entirely.)

“Sseul!” The door from the backyard burst open, and Seungwan found herself staring in surprise as Joohyun stumbled into the room. “Sseuuul!”

Joohyun latched onto Seulgi’s arm with a pout on her face. Seungwan saw Joy’s expression go dark, while Seulgi only chuckled. “What happened to you? Did you actually drink?”

“Amber unnie wanted to play beer pong,” Joohyun whined. She leaned her weight into Seulgi easily, and Seungwan thought that it was only natural that the two most beautiful girls she’d seen apart from Joy were already together.

“And you took her up on it?”

“I’m not good at beer pong. _And_ she made me actually drink my penalties.”

“You can’t be good at every game, unnie.” Seulgi patted her arm consolingly. “Here, meet my friends! This is Joy.”

“Ooooh, tea Joy.” Joohyun nodded a tad too forcefully. “ _Finally_.”

A blush rose in Seulgi’s cheeks, and Seungwan noticed how she forcefully turned Joohyun away from Joy. Joy’s expression was still gloomy, and Seungwan made a mental note to tell Joy wabout the exchange she just saw, feeling a bit more fortunate herself.

“And _this_ is Wendy! We’re the same age!”

“Wendy?” Joohyun’s eyes trailed over to her slowly, then widened when their gazes met. “It’s tea Wendy!”

“Oh, whoops.” Seulgi rubbed the back of her neck with the hand not currently claimed by Joohyun. “I didn’t even realize.”

_Tea Wendy_? Joy mouthed at Seungwan, but she could only shrug in response.

“No _wonder_ you didn’t answer my texts.”

“You texted?” Seungwan pulled out her phone to look but had Joohyun shoved into her before she could turn on the screen.

“You should go talk with Wendy, unnie.” Seulgi gave Joohyun a look, but Seungwan found herself incapable of interpreting it when Joohyun latched on to her arm instead, overheated hands clasped over her forearm without hesitation.

“Okay.”

Seungwan just managed to shoot a pointed look at Joy, trying to put all of the “be careful, be _responsible_ ” vibes she could into the half second she had before Joohyun led the way into the backyard.

The beer pong table was set up on the back porch. A short haired girl smirked at them as they passed, causing Joohyun to squawk indignantly. Seungwan guessed it was the ‘Amber unnie’ Joohyun had mentioned. Most people were milling around the game table, but Joohyun headed for a small bench at the back of the small yard.

“I wanted to invite you,” Joohyun told her as she half guided, half dragged Wendy along. Her words slurred together at the edges, telling of just how many penalties she’d had to take. When they sat, Joohyun didn’t let go of Seungwan’s arm. In fact, she rested her head against Seungwan’s shoulder, causing Seungwan’s heart to pound audibly in her chest. “I didn’t realize Seulgi was going to do it for me.”

“I actually came with Joy. I think Seulgi invited her…?”

“Oh.”

Unlike Seungwan in her cropped tank top, Joohyun was dressed reasonably for the autumn chill with a flannel shirt. While Joohyun’s tipsy clinginess was causing her all kinds of barely managed panic, the warmth was admittedly nice. She smelled like alcohol, but also of vanilla and some kind of floral scent. It was a scent as warm and elegant as Joohyun herself.

She squeaked as she felt the warmth move to her stomach; Joohyun had pressed a hand against the exposed skin. Seungwan felt the other girl poke her experimentally, and her cheeks grew warm.

“Do you work out?”

“Not really… I do some Pilates? If you feel muscles, it’s more forgetting to eat dinner when I’m busy than working out.” She laughed awkwardly, pressing her free hand to her cheek to try and cool it off. Apparently Joohyun didn’t notice or didn’t care how awkward Seungwan was and simply settled her hand flat against Seungwan’s stomach again.

Joohyun scooted in closer, settling her head more comfortably on Seungwan’s shoulder. She felt like should say something, but the other girl seemed content to stare upwards towards the sky littered with faint stars. Seungwan recalled how Joohyun had watched the sky when they had walked to the café the other day. It seemed to be a habit of the older girl.

In the quiet, even Seungwan’s heart managed to slow down to a reasonable pace. Joohyun’s thigh was pressed against hers, Joohyun’s left arm and chest against Seungwan’s right arm, while her hand was still on Seungwan’s stomach. Seungwan’s exposed left side was cold, but she was otherwise kept comfortable with the other girl’s body heat.

Eventually she felt Joohyun shiver, and she reached out to rub her hand over the arm she could reach, only belatedly shocked by her forwardness. “Are you cold? Should we go inside?”

Joohyun made a non-committal noise, but slowly sat up.

“It’s a little cold out late—” When she turned, she found that Joohyun’s face was incredibly close to hers. Seungwan could only stare, mouth going dry. But Joohyun didn’t move, looking right back at her.

“You look nice tonight,” Joohyun said with a clumsy smile.

Her breath caught in her throat. “Th-thanks…”

She thought she saw Joohyun’s eyes flicker downwards, and for a moment indulged in the thought that Joohyun might want to kiss her as badly as Seungwan wanted to close the distance between them.

However, before she could seriously consider the possibly, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye, and her stomach lurched to signal her protection charms triggering. With a reluctant exhale, she pulled back to look towards the movement.

It was just a person, although she could’ve sworn that everyone had been on the porch the entire time. She couldn’t see anything else that could’ve tripped her charm and cursed the fact that she’d traveled light for once, her tote bag still sitting next to Joy’s bed. The only thing she’d brought with her except the charms around her neck was a small pouch of salt and cedar shavings.

“What is it?” Joohyun asked.

“Uh…” Seungwan pressed her lips together, wondering if it’d be too odd to ask. Unfortunately, Seungwan had been in enough situations gone wrong to have learned to trust her charms’ warnings even if the danger wasn’t immediately apparent. “I know it’s weird, but you wouldn’t happen to have that stone I gave you, would you?”

“Hm…? This?” Joohyun’s shoulder dug into Seungwan’s arm for a moment as she fished the holey stone out of her pocket. Joohyun wasn’t wearing the skirt Seungwan had given her.

“I wasn’t expecting you to actually have it.”

“You said it was a good luck charm, so I kept it.”

“It is…” She held the stone up to her eye, looking around the yard. Nothing seemed out of place, no glamours that she could see. Whoever had been walking by must’ve wandered back to the pong table since she didn’t see them either. She frowned as she lowered the stone lens. Not seeing anything just meant that she didn’t know what had tripped her charm.

Joohyun took the holey stone back from her, her fingers scrabbling clumsily over Seungwan’s palm. She didn’t ask Seungwan why, or comment on how weird she was being, only tucking the stone back into her pocket. However, when Seungwan turned back to her, she saw that Joohyun seemed to be struggling to keep her eyes open, blinking them wide forcefully every few seconds.

“We should go inside,” Seungwan said, still looking around the yard for anything untoward.

“Mm… it’s cold. Do you wanna go to my room?”

“Uh-- um.” Had she heard her correctly? At this point, Seungwan was beginning to wonder if she was just imagining things.

Plus, she still had the worried thought that maybe what had tripped Seungwan’s charm wasn’t something dangerous for her and Joohyun, but Joohyun herself.

“I wanna check on Joy and make sure she’s still okay,” was the careful response she settled on.

“That’s so considerate.” Joohyun renewed her grip around Seungwan’s arm, her smile growing wider.

Seungwan stood up slowly, Joohyun remaining firmly attached to her arm. The other girl wobbled on her feet, so Seungwan carefully pulled her arm from Joohyun’s grasp to wrap it around her back instead. Joohyun seemed happy enough with the arrangement, snaking her arm behind Seungwan to settle a hand on her hip. Anxiety battled pleasure with the situation, and Seungwan decided that, for the sake of her sanity, she’d just focus on finding out where Joy was.

Inside, the party had only gotten louder. They didn’t find Seulgi and Joy in the kitchen, and Seungwan panicked when they didn’t find them in the living room or out on the front lawn.

“Let’s try upstairs,” Joohyun said, leading a barely breathing Seungwan to the second floor when it became clear to even the tipsy girl that Seungwan was losing her mind. With the crowd of partiers, it was almost too warm inside and Joohyun had found her hand at some point instead. It was crowded, and Joohyun didn’t want to lose track of her, Seungwan reasoned.

“It’s Seulgi’s room,” Joohyun told her, stopping in front of an open door. She knocked on the door frame before poking her head in.

“Unnie?” Seulgi turned towards the door, taking out an earbud.

“They’re both here, Wendy,” Joohyun gleefully announced.

Seulgi and Joy were sitting in front of a laptop, sharing a pair of headphones. On the screen was something that looked like a cartoon. If it weren’t for the fact that Joy had somehow managed to convince Seulgi to let her sit on her lap, it was about as wholesome of an activity as one could manage at a house party.

“Did you need something?”

“No, Wendy just wanted to make sure Joy-ssi was alright.”

Seungwan winced; that was exactly the sort of nosy overprotective thing that would get her scolded by Joy. However, the younger girl looked amused instead of angry, and Seungwan realized why when Joohyun’s chin found its way to her shoulder.

“Call me when you’re about to leave,” Seungwan told her.

“Can I tell my parents I’m sleeping over at your place?” Joy grinned, looking as pleased as a cat with cream with her arm draped over Seulgi’s shoulders.

“You’ve never slept over at my apartment once.”

“It’s okay; I’ll make sure she gets home safe,” Seulgi said, slipping into the exchange before Joy could seriously invite herself over for the night instead of just teasing Seungwan with the possibility. “I’ve got your number to let you know.”

“I didn’t sign up for _two_ moms, oh my god.” She sighed loudly, rolling her eyes. “Let’s go back to our movie, unnie.”

Seulgi paused for a moment, her eyes going back and forth between Joohyun and Seungwan, but only shrugged and put her earbud back in.

“I’ve got my phone,” Seungwan repeated, getting a snarky ‘love you, mom!’ in response.

Joohyun tugged on her arm once it was clear that Seungwan’s fears had been appeased. “My room is just down the hall.”

“O-okay…”

Joohyun’s room was unsurprisingly purple themed. It was spotlessly clean and minimally decorated. The bedspread and curtains were a lavender color, while the furniture was an amalgamation of white and light wood. Even under the dim old light fixture, the room felt open and light. The thing that caught her eye the most was a series of sketches clipped to a display wire on the wall. She wandered over to look when Joohyun let go of her arm to take off her flannel.

“Are these yours?”

“Some of them are. The good ones are Seulgi’s, though. Are you cold?”

“I like them.” Something soft was placed on her shoulders, and Seungwan looked down to find Joohyun’s flannel. She hadn’t been cold, but she wasn’t going to admit it now. She slipped her arms into the vanilla and floral scented shirt happily.

“Finally,” Joohyun muttered, and Seungwan turned in time to see Joohyun collapse on her bed facedown. She took a step towards the bed, concerned, but Joohyun rolled over on her back. “I hate parties.”

“Then why have one?” She sat down on the edge of the bed tentatively, sliding fully on it only when Joohyun gestured for her to.

“Amber unnie arranges them all, and the rest of the team likes them.”

“Honestly, Joy promised me free tea if I came with her,” Seungwan confessed.

Joohyun patted the bed next to her, and Seungwan moved up just a bit towards the head of the bed. However, Joohyun didn’t stop until Seungwan had moved all the way up the bed next to Joohyun’s head. The other girl promptly stole Seungwan’s thigh to use as a pillow.

“My head’s been spinning all night,” she whined. Her breath was hot against Seungwan’s thigh, and she was grateful for the denim shielding her skin.

“You drank too much.”

“After I lost the first game, I challenged unnie to a second one,” Joohyun admitted in a quiet mumble. “Usually I can get someone else to take my drinks, but she threatened to ban anyone who took my penalties from the house alcohol.”

“Sounds like she wanted you to have to face your hubris,” Seungwan teased, although with a light tone. She didn’t know Joohyun well enough to know if she’d take that sort of joke well. But Joohyun just pressed her face harder against Seungwan’s leg, groaning unhappily.

“You should drink water. I can go get you a glass.” Joohyun gestured clumsily towards the side table without looking. Seungwan found a half full water bottle and pressed it into Joohyun’s hand. The other girl took it, but only sighed and held it against her chest instead of drinking.

“Come on, come on. You gotta sit up.” With gentle shoves at the other girl’s shoulder, Seungwan slowly coaxed Joohyun into pulling herself upright and drinking the water. She kept up persuading her until the water was gone, then took the empty bottle and placed it back on the side table.

“Do you always take care of people like this?” Joohyun mumbled when she handed the bottle back.

“Like what?”

“Like right now. Like with Joy-ssi.” Joohyun seemed more asleep than awake, eyes half lidded with her fingers rubbing circles over her temples.

“I try, I guess…” Seungwan kicked off her boots so she could put her feet on the bed, deciding that potentially dirtying the blankets outweighed the boldness of making herself comfortable. She arranged herself against the headboard to support her back. It only took another moment after she’d stopped moving for Joohyun to give up her swaying upright position and return to using Seungwan as a pillow.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

She didn’t speak again, and after a few moments, Seungwan pulled out her phone to check for any messages. There were none, which she hoped meant that Seulgi and Sooyoung were still watching their movie.

Joohyun’s breathing slowed, and Seungwan absently brushed the hair back from the other girl’s face. Then, seeing that the other girl didn’t even stir, dared to comb her fingers through the soft waves a second time. She had no idea what she was doing here, or what Joohyun wanted from her, or anything, really. Despite barely drinking herself, the night had felt like a whirl of confusion. But there was something thrilling of being trusted so easily as her crush dozed on her leg. Whether or not Seungwan should trust as easily was still in the air.

Her phone finally buzzed, Seulgi letting her know that she’d walked Joy home safely. That was her cue to leave before she dozed off herself.

Carefully, she lifted Joohyun’s head from her leg, doing her best to wiggle out from underneath. She was less than graceful but managed to get off the bed and place a real pillow under Joohyun’s head without waking her.

Joohyun was still laying on top of the blankets with her shoes on. Thankfully, although Seungwan did a double take at the sight, she was wearing a pair of Vans with the backs unceremoniously squished down flat. Seungwan could slide the shoes off easily before flipping the blankets over the sleeping girl as best she could.

“Good night,” she whispered, turning the light off and closing the door.

Seungwan woke up late the next morning, the noon sun greeting her when she tugged aside her curtains. Embarrassingly enough, she had crawled under the covers fully clothed, including the flannel she’d managed to steal from Joohyun on accident.

She could still smell the mix of floral and vanilla, distinct against the familiar smell of home. It made her smile as she bustled around the kitchen to put together a late breakfast. Before eating, she sent a message to Joohyun, smiling at the messages the older girl had to have sent the previous night.

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: Sounds good!

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: Hi Wendy

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: Were having aparty

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: Yu shlds come !!

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: 🥰

Good morning! 🌞

I hope you feel better today!!

Be sure to drink enough water 💧💧💧

She got herself ready to meet Joy, showering, packing a bag of materials and getting dressed. She had to abandon the flannel from Joohyun, despite shamefully keeping it on while eating. Joy joked that she knew all three of the flannels Seungwan rotated through in a week and while her crush was obvious already, she didn’t need to show up practically screaming it with Joohyun’s shirt.

As she headed out the door, she checked her phone. While it wouldn’t be surprising if Joohyun hadn’t checked her phone yet, she still frowned when there was no response to her texts. She’d gotten used to fairly quick responses; honestly Joohyun responded far faster than Seungwan expected. Somewhere in the part of her brain still conditioned by high school clique culture, she would expect someone like Joohyun to be too busy to spare her any time at all.

One day she’d shake off her lingering insecurities, but today wasn’t that day. Instead, she pocketed the device with a sigh and headed to Joy’s house.

While Seungwan’s apartment was more private, she preferred to hold lessons outdoors when she could. Many elements of witchcraft were tied to nature, and Seungwan found it easier to teach the concepts when surrounded by it. Because of that, Joy’s backyard was their typical location.

“When do we get to start having lessons inside again, unnie?” Joy was complaining, pouting in her winter coat. Despite her whining and their late night, the younger girl was still fresh-faced and smiley. Seungwan was pretty sure she had a good idea why.

“It’s not _that_ cold yet,” Seungwan responded absently, pulling things out of her bag. Joy watched her with raised eyebrows as more and more items kept emerging from the tote. “Here, take this, crybaby.”

Joy stuck out her tongue but caught the handwarmer Seungwan tossed at her. “Thanks.”

Seungwan had brought along various ingredients for an herbal charm, as promised. She’d lined up unlabeled herbs from her collection on the picnic table. Since she’d had Joy learning how to identify plants for the past month, she led her charge through identifying each herb and combining them for different goals.

Despite her habitual stubborn griping, Seungwan found Joy to be a diligent student. The lesson went by quickly, Joy frowning as she carefully picked out different ingredients by memory alone and shaking her head with disappointment each time Seungwan had to step in to correct her. By the end of the lesson, they had constructed three different, serviceable charms. They didn’t quite have the same kick as Seungwan’s own work, but she could tell that they were a strong first attempt.

Seungwan pulled out her phone to check it when she finished packing up her things. Her texts weren’t even marked as read.

“What’s wrong, unnie?”

“Joohyun-ssi didn’t respond to my text… I’m worried.”

“Worried about what?”

“I don’t know…” She paused to consider the matter. “I mean, she’d had a lot to drink and I worry she might be feeling sick today…”

“But you can’t do anything about that,” Joy pointed out. “Grab your bag and let’s go _inside_.”

“You’re right…” She did as instructed, throwing her bag over her shoulder and following an impatient Joy inside. “I just… don’t know why she wouldn’t respond.”

“It could be anything,” Joy reasoned. “Maybe she had plans today, or homework she didn’t do yesterday because of the party, or whatever. It’s not like it’s because of you she’s not texting.” Joy only raised an eyebrow when Seungwan did a bad job of keeping a straight face at her last sentence. “Man, unnie, you really gotta stop being like this.”

“I know, I know…”

“Just give her time to get her shit together. It’s not like anything happened last night.”

“Right… yeah…”

“Nothing… did happen, did it? You’re not holding out on me, are you?” She nudged Seungwan with her elbow before stepping through the door Seungwan was holding open.

“Not really? No?”

“You don’t sound so sure.” Joy’s eyes gleamed with amusement.

“She was just… kind of clingy. But also drunk.” She barreled ahead when Joy began to grin. “And drunk. Did I mention that?”

“If you say so, unnie.”

Joy didn’t seem convinced, so Seungwan pulled out a topic she knew would divert the younger girl. “What happened with you and Seulgi-ssi?”

Seungwan expected the girl to continue with her usual air of snark. However, the predatory grin at Seungwan’s weak spot for Joohyun faded into something far more soft. “We watched Howl’s Moving Castle. Seulgi unnie recommended it— did you know she’s an artist?”

Seungwan nodded. “I saw some of her art in Joohyun-ssi’s room.”

“You were in her _room_?” Joy covered her mouth in mock shock. “You know they aren’t dating, right? I asked.” Seungwan thought she was done being surprised by Joy’s easy confidence. “So we watched a movie, and she walked me home. And she even texted good morning— oh, sorry, unnie.”

Seungwan simply waved her hand at the comment. She followed Joy upstairs, the younger one gushing about Seulgi without seeming to realize. It made Seungwan smile to see her friend so unabashedly cheerful. By the time she joined the Parks for dinner, she’d forgotten her worries about Joohyun.

Her phone didn’t buzz until she was on her way back home.

📚 psych class Joohyun unnie 💜: Im OK see you tomorrow

That was it.

Joohyun was normally meticulous about grammar, but she’d let the two sentences run together. It wasn’t a big deal—Seungwan _knew_ it didn’t mean anything. And yet, the late response and the seemingly careless response had Seungwan biting her lip anxiously.

_There’s nothing I can do_ , she told herself firmly. With more effort than she felt should be required, she refrained from sending any texts back. Joohyun didn’t need a long rambling worried monologue from her. She would just see her tomorrow.

Her resolve didn’t stop her from feeling restless as she sat in her usual seat for their psych lecture the next day. Joohyun wasn’t in her seat yet, which had Seungwan worrying all over again.

“Good morning.”

Seungwan looked up from her notebook to finally see the object of all her stress. Joohyun looked tired, the circles under her eyes a faint purple. She held two drinks in hand.

“Here, this one’s for you. I hope you like lattes.” Joohyun handed over one of the drinks before squishing past Seungwan to get to her own seat. Once there, she rummaged through the front of her backpack and pulled out a small paper bag. “And I got you a muffin too. It’s blueberry.”

Seungwan just stared with wide eyes, the gifts held absently in her hand. Joohyun didn’t pay her shocked expression any mind, pulling out a second paper bag for herself as well as her notebook and pens.

“I just wanted to thank you for Saturday night,” she explained as she settled in. “I really appreciate you sticking with me. I don’t often drink, so I didn't realize how much I'd had...”

Seungwan’s throat felt closed up in shock. She tried speaking, only to cough before managing to say something. “It’s not a problem.”

“Honestly…” She tucked her hair behind her ear, a pout on her face. “I woke up feeling so bad the next day. I only ate dinner and went straight back to bed…" She stopped, shaking her head before taking a sip of her drink. "I just hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Seungwan flashed back to the night of the party, from Joohyun clinging tightly to her arm outside, to being used as a pillow, to their almost kiss…? She shook her head. “Not at all. You were fine. It was fine.”

“Good.” Seungwan melted at the bright smile Joohyun flashed at her. “Do you like blueberry?”

“I do, thank you.” She pulled her gaze away from Joohyun’s happy expression to look at the treats in front of her. The biggest rule drilled into her regarding fae was to never accept gifts, _especially_ food or drink. And yet here she was, muffin and coffee already accepted when she wasn't even certain what Joohyun was. Worse, now that she admitted to liking blueberry, it’d be rude if she didn’t eat it. “I, um… normally don’t eat breakfast.”

“But breakfast is important! It might help you focus more in class if you ate something.” _Ouch_. Seungwan did her best to hide her grimace at the remark. Joohyun’s face, however, was innocently earnest.

It wasn’t food from Faerie; just from the campus Starbucks according to the packaging. And she’d already accepted it, so that ship had flown. And she didn’t want to offend Joohyun, both to not be rude or have an offended (potential) faerie curse her into next week.

Hesitantly, Seungwan took a bite of the muffin. Joohyun’s smile at her almost made her forget why she’d been concerned.

“Is it good?”

Seungwan nodded quickly, her mouth full. “It’s good,” she finally choked out, swallowing a not quite chewed chunk of muffin.

“Good…” Joohyun’s gaze wandered down to the floor as she repeated, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Seungwan couldn’t help the vague sense of dread she felt as she slowly worked her way through the muffin and latte over the course of their lecture. But her charms didn’t ping, and Joohyun wasn’t upset at her for whatever irrational reason Seungwan’s anxiety could make up, and so she counted the morning as a win overall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all caught up with aff; gonna be back on a normal rate of updates! thanks! <3


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